In a joint letter dated 3 October, future President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, current President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, and President of the European Parliament David Sassoli called for accession negotiations to be opened with Albania and North Macedonia.
“We believe that now is the time to open accession talks with both countries,” explain the four presidents. They believe that Skopje and Tirana “did what we asked them to do”, while pointing out that there would be a lot of work to do with regard to reforms before joining the EU.
Reiterating that, in June, leaders agreed to reach a “clear and substantive decision” on opening negotiations “no later than October 2019”, the presidents explain, “Whether the EU decides now to open accession talks [...] is a test of the Union’s ability to deliver on its promises and look to the future”.
In their opinion, if the EU wants to maintain its international role and protect its interests, taking a step towards integrating those European countries that have shown an interest and fulfilled the conditions required to start the accession process will help to achieve this.
Member States were still divided after ambassadors discussed the matter on Tuesday (see EUROPE 12340/14).
See the letter: http://bit.ly/2AD6j5m (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)